Alphonsa (1952)

Lilly, the only daughter of a traditional Catholic family from central Travancore, is the daughter of Thommichan and Marianna. She lives with her husband Baby, his father Anthony, his second wife and her daughter Rosy, widowed sister Marykutty and her two sons. During their honeymoon, Baby gifts Lilly an expensive pen. At home, Lilly is harassed by her step mother and Rosy. A wound appears on her leg one day and everyone in the household casts her aside, suspecting it is leprosy. She is removed from her husband’s room and is put in a dark and dingy room.

When she can no longer bear the torture, Lilly leaves the house. However, she returns with faith in the healing powers of Jesus. Meanwhile, Rosy asks Lilly for the pen, and then gives it to Francis, a neighbor. Seeing the pen with Francis, Baby suspects Lilly of infidelity. Lilly once again leaves for her own house. Despite many efforts, she cannot be cured. Ultimately, she hears of the miraculous healing powers of Alphonsa and travels to meet her. On the way, she dreams of a nun blessing her. She wakes up to find that her wound is completely healed. At the same time all those who tortured her are afflicted by diseases.

Alphonsa was the first Christian Devotional film in Malayalam cinema. It refers to Alphonsa, the first woman of Indian origin canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church as well as the first canonized saint of the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic Church based in Kerala.